“Europe’s promise is in many ways a provocative and exuberant book.”
"Steven Hill, a director at the Washington-based New America Foundation, has just published a book, Europe's Promise, which argues that “the European way is the best hope in an insecure age.” He dismissed talk of the EU being “marginalized” in a G2 world. On the contrary, he emphasized that the Obama White House was under pressure from the EU on climate change and financial regulation. “This, of course, is the exact opposite of the view that 'Europe is irrelevant'. Europe is actually hyper-relevant,” he said. “Obama knows that Europe is leading in these ways, and he would like to follow to some extent, but he is having a hard time delivering.”
“In a new book, Steven Hill extols the European social contract for better government services. Life in Europe is more secure, he argues, and therefore more agreeable.”
"Europe’s Promise will be an eye opening read for many Americans. As Hill shows, much of the American media coverage of Europe is slanted to reinforce caricatures of the ‘Old Continent’ – that European economies are inefficient, overtaxed and uncompetitive, and that Europe is deeply divided politically. Instead, he demonstrates that the economically advanced democracies of Europe have developed a model of social capitalism and a wide range of public policies that may serve as models for American reformers."
"In this spirit of de Toquevillian wisdom, Hill offers the reader a comprehensive analysis of Europe aimed at engaging the American public in a dialogue about the transformative achievements of the old continent. A very-well written discussion, substantiated by a wealth of reference material and dotted with personal anecdotes.”
"Steven Hill is an extraordinarily gifted writer... Europe's Promise is a substantial piece of work, with enormous footnoting, about the future of Europe and its influence as a place of extreme livability. Hill's intriguing book suggests that Europe isn't the basket-case that some people want to believe it is, and the quality of life and innovation there is quite high."
"Steven Hill is the author of a book – now listen to the title – "Europe's Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age", and he thinks the US should be more like those Europeans. Really? Are you serious? Do you really want to make us more like them?"
"The two great strengths of Europe's Promise are its breadth and its accessibility. The discussion is far ranging . . . Hill dispels myths and caricatures. He manages to survey in one book an extremely rich cross section of the policies and political practices that make "The European Way" distinctive -- from health care policies, to environmental policies, to family and other social policies, to foreign policy. Hill's book is also very well written, in an engaging journalistic style. The book makes a great contribution to European studies -- communicating in one compelling volume so much of what is distinctive and appealing about "The European Way." He argues that Europe has become a global leader, with a model of sustainable development and social capitalism that offers the most hopeful path forward for the 21st Century."
"The two great strengths of Europe's Promise are its breadth and its accessibility. The discussion is far ranging. . . . Hill dispels myths and caricatures. He manages to survey in one book an extremely rich cross section of the policies and political practices that make 'The European Way' distinctive. . . . Hill's book is also very well written, in an engaging journalistic style."
"What can the United States learn from Europe? If you believe what's said in Washington, the answer is 'not much'. If you read Steven Hill's intelligent, broad-ranging, and deeply researched book, you'll find the correct answer is 'a great deal'—and now is the time to learn it."
“A spirited new tour guide to the Europe beyond the tourist hotspots. . . . Europe, Hill helps us understand, has much more to offer than history and vistas. Europe has a model, an approach to modernity that offers, by every measure that matters, the finest quality of life in the world.”
“An important new book from Berkeley's worthy UC Press.”
“Hill’s thesis is that Western Europe treats its people better in many ways than the United States does its people, and not just in social insurance and services. Read, wonder and galvanize!”
“There are books on international politics which should not be rectangular, with a cover made of cardboard and many, many pages of paper, but they should look like cartridges for an assault rifle: sharp pointed projectiles with steel jackets and a heavy charge of powder in the case. "Europe's Promise" by Steven Hill, program director at the Washington-based New America Foundation, is one such book. Explosive power, wherever you look.”
“There are vital lessons in Europe’s Promise from which America could benefit. . . . Hill is able to explain how and why Europe works and therefore, may galvanize Americans to look in the mirror and make some changes.”
“U.S. militarism has long been a core part of the American Way,” writes Steven Hill in a just-published book, Europe’s Promise, that compares the United States and Europe. Militarism does “triple duty as a formidable foreign policy tool, a powerful stimulus to the economy, and a usurper of tax dollars that could be spent on other budget priorities.”
“Europe’s Promise marshals an impressive army of facts and comparative statistics to show that the United States is behind Europe in nearly every socioeconomic category that can be measured and that neither America’s trickle-down, Wall Street-driven capitalism nor China’s state capitalism hold the keys to the future.”
"Steven Hill ends the transatlantic debate over which economic and political system is superior: Europe wins. While America and China fight for oil and minerals, Europe already achieves more with less. Indeed, the path to the American Dream is the European Way."—Parag Khanna, author of The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order
"Like a reverse Alexis de Tocqueville, Steven Hill dauntlessly explores a society largely unknown to his compatriots back home. Sweeping away the ideological posturing, he shows us exactly how the modern European Way works and the promise it holds for an America which has slipped to become, in terms of social, economic and energy policy, the Old World."—Hendrik Hertzberg, senior editor, The New Yorker, author of Obamanos!: The Birth of a New Political Era
"Europe's Promise should startle, inform, and galvanize Americans in raising the ante in favor of a political economy where people matter first."—Ralph Nader
“As Steven Hill compellingly argues in his excellent Europe's Promise: Why the European Way Is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age, Europe has become a dynamic, transformational force in the world and stands as a clear model of success on so many fronts that we must push reset in our assessment of Europe's course. Americans today should learn a bit about how Europe has quietly and incrementally added to its size and global weight and maintained an innovative approach to broad public challenges like renewable energy, capital punishment, social welfare, and even corporate dynamism.”—Steve Clemons, director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation, author of the political blog, The Washington Note
"Europe's Promise is a provocative and illuminating book that should lead Americans to think hard about our own assumptions and priorities. By closely examining Europe's economic and political practices, Hill reveals a new Europe that has become the world's leader during this century challenged by global economic crisis, climate crisis, and new geopolitical tensions. In these times of hope and fear, read this captivating book to discover new and creative models for building a better future.”—Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation
“Hill's book is an elegant and counterintuitive manifesto for a new politics of interdependence that could take the world through the turmoil of the economic and global warming crises.”—Mark Leonard, Executive Director, European Council on Foreign Relations
"What can the United States learn from Europe? If you believe what's said in Washington, the answer is 'not much'. If you read Steven Hill's intelligent, broad-ranging, and deeply researched book, you'll find the correct answer is 'a great deal'—and now is the time to learn it."—Jacob S. Hacker, author of The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Security and the Decline of the American Dream
